Around the Year in 52 Books discussion

Monopoly, Clue, tag, hide and seek, dice, dominoes... We've been playing games since we were kids, and this week, we are looking for books that are related to games. Maybe you're looking for a book to connect to your favorite board game, or maybe you want a book that feels like a game to read. Whatever your choice, have fun with it!

Suggestions:
10 Novels Where Characters Play Board Games: https://www.radennyauthor.com/blog/20...
Books About Board Games: https://www.vancouverisawesome.com/lo...
Dice Games in Fiction: https://library.cedarmill.org/find/bo...
10 Sci-Fi Books for the Video Gamer: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/blog/s...
20 Best Video Game Books: https://bookriot.com/best-video-game-...
10 Books About Games: https://offtheshelf.com/2017/11/win-l...
GR Shelf - Gaming Fiction: https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/...
GR Listopia - Main Character Enters Contest/Game: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/7...

ATY Listopia: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...

What are you reading for this prompt, and do you have any recommendations?

Between this and the YA list, I think I'll find a way to re-read The Westing Game which was one of my favorite books when I was younger.

I may read The Queen's Gambit for this. But there's a third Beartown book coming out, well it's out in Sweden now but last I looked there was no pub date for the English language version.

I've read 24 books on the Listopia so apparently I really like books about games.

I've got The World Played Chess lined up for this one.
Chess Story is very good. Short too :)

Some of the options on my list:

Atlas Alone by Emma Newman. It's book #4 in the Planetfall series and is about a virtual reality gamer.
We Are Watching Eliza Bright by A.E. Osworth. The protag is a video game coder who faces work place harrassment.
Firebreak by Nicole Kornher-Stace, which is about a virtual reality war game that might be more than a game.
Gentlemen and Players by Joanne Harris. The synopsis states, "The veteran teacher faces a formidable opponent, however -- a master player with a bitter grudge and a strategy that has been meticulously planned to the final move, a secret game with very real, very deadly consequences."
Ace, King, Knave by Maria McCann. There are playing cards on the cover and the title eludes to cards.

My options so far:
The Glass Bead Game
The Player of Games
Ready Player One
Chess
20020: An American football story
Press Start to Play
The Foxhole Court

If you haven't read 17776: What football will look like in the future, I highly recommend it. It is an online multimedia book, which is a format I usually find gimmicky, but it made me cry. Very good story.

My options include
Beartown - Fredrick Backman
Chess Story - Stefan Zweig
The Unfinished Clue - Georgette Heyer

I'd recommend Cards on the Table by Agatha Christie.

I also added some odd books that aren't really "about" games or have a game in the story, but have a game in their title:
The Memory Keeper's Daughter (Memory is a children's game)
Breath, Eyes, Memory (same)
The Life of Charlotte Brontë (Authors is a card game)

I think I'm going to read The Final Gambit by Jennifer Lynn Barnes for this one. It's the last book in The Inheritance Games trilogy, set to release in August of 2022.

I've been pleasantly surprised by the first two in the series, so I'm hoping this one will be a great finale!

I'm thinking The Master of Go for this one - would love to understand how Go is played and sounds like an interesting book.

Kathy wrote: "My options include
Beartown - Fredrick Backman
Chess Story - Stefan Zweig
The Unfinished Clue - Georgette Heyer

I'd recommend [book:Cards on the Tabl..."

Duh! I only thought of indoor games, not sports! I would still like to try for something related to a board game, card game, etc. but I could think of sports as a KIS.

Winners, the next book in the Beartown series by Fredrik Backman.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5...

Whack 'N' Roll - a bunco-based mystery :)

I didn't really care for it but Craks in a Marriage is a Mah Jongg cozy mystery.

I wish I had kept the book The Killings at Kingfisher Hill: The New Hercule Poirot Mystery until next year. Perfect for this prompt. A good Agatha Christie read about the invention of the game Monopoly.

Steve wrote: "Between this and the YA list, I think I'll find a way to re-read The Westing Game which was one of my favorite books when I was younger."

This is the one I am planning to read. My daughter read it a few years ago, and she loved it. I remember when she was reading it - she went to Costco with me, but she sat in the basket of the cart and read the whole time we were in the store. When I checked out, she had groceries all around her and piled up on her! LOL. I have a picture - it's really funny. Anyway, she just mentioned it again recently, and I told her that I had a prompt for it! :) So, I'm planning on that one for this prompt.

My plan is A Night in the Lonesome October.

I recently came across a newly published book that would be perfect for this prompt - The Last Checkmate by Gabriella Saab.

This is my least favorite prompt of 2022. Nothing I want to read.

Another recently published book that could be used for the prompt - The World Played Chess by Robert Dugoni, who is the author of the popular The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell, The book only counts because of the title but that certainly is acceptable!

We Ride Upon Sticks sounds like playing quidditch from Harry Potter
One to Watch

I'll probably buddy read Questland with my husband, who really loved Ready Player One and is willing to give this a try.

Nancy wrote: "I may read The Queen's Gambit for this. But there's a third Beartown book coming out, well it's out in Sweden now but last I looked there was no pub date for the English language version.

I've re..."
I'm so anxious to read the 3rd Beartown book. I keep checking for a release date for the U.S. but no luck!

I think I'll read Escape Room by Maren Stoffels.

Rock, Paper, Scissors by Alice Feeney
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5...

I read and enjoyed these:
Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of Six M.I.T. Students Who Took Vegas for Millions (blackjack aka 21)

The Joy Luck Club (mahjong)

Ender's Game (virtual video gaming)

The Queen's Gambit (chess)

Ready Player One (virtual video gaming)

The Lying Game (made up game by a group of friends - aptly named)

Caraval (a magical 5-night festival game)

I had re-read One Word Kill by Mark Lawrence and the first book of this year.

The characters are playing Dungeons & Dragons every weekend until the plot starts to go odd. 4 stars!

I just read Play It As It Lays by Joan Didion, and hearing of the author's recent passing caused me to pick the book up from the bookstore display table. The title refers to the main character receiving advice from her father on how to play craps, and there's an overlying metaphor of Las Vegas games and gambling, though the book mostly revolves around 1960s Hollywood. Be warned, it's a pretty brutal book that won't leave you smiling, but the writing is fantastic.

I just read The Queen's Gambit for this, and it was completely engrossing, even though I barely remember how to play chess. And now I can watch the show!

The Maid by Nita Prose is compared to the board game Clue.

I thought about reading The Queen’s Gambit but decided to watch the TV series instead! I probably won’t read it now. The show was excellent! I’m curious how it fares against the book.

I read Nemesis by SD Perry, which is related to the Resident Evil video games series

As an avid Scrabble player I might go for

Murder at Pirate's Cove subtitled Secrets & Scrabble #1
or
It's Your Move, Wordfreak!

Robin P wrote: "As an avid Scrabble player I might go for

Murder at Pirate's Cove subtitled Secrets & Scrabble #1
or
It's Your Move, Wordfreak!"

Thank you for the suggestions. Have you read Word Freak: Heartbreak, Triumph, Genius, and Obsession in the World of Competitive Scrabble Players?

Oh, yes, Word Freak is great. I knew many of the people mentioned in it, since I used to be a competitive player back in the '80's - '90's.

Robin P wrote: "Oh, yes, Word Freak is great. I knew many of the people mentioned in it, since I used to be a competitive player back in the '80's - '90's."

How cool, Robin. I love to play, but can't imagine being good enough to compete.

For any baseball fans out there, I enjoyed this one for this prompt:
The Head Game: Baseball Seen from the Pitcher's Mound by Roger Kahn - 4* - My Review

Based on a comment placed earlier here, I read The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin. What a delight!

I read two books that will fit this prompt:

The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics - Olympic Games. Also set on water, historical fiction, set in 1930's, source of light. Rejected prompts - Olympics.

The Three-Body Problem. The story within the story involves an in-depth computer game. It also fits Continents-Asia, Asian author, source of light on cover, and possibly dragons (uncharted territory). Rejected prompts - Obama's List, NPR's list of top Sci-Fi/Fantasy books.

I read The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan. Great book & I can't wait to watch the movie again.

I'd recommend: Ready Player One, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, and Divergent.

What do you guys think about Fight Club for this topic? I know we aren't supposed to talk about it... (haha) but would Fight Club count as a game? Or is that approach a little too broad?

Do you think a Choose Your Own Adventure Novel would be okay for this prompt?

2 nonfiction books are It's All a Game: The History of Board Games from Monopoly to Settlers of Catan and Seven Games: A Human History.

Joyce wrote: "Do you think a Choose Your Own Adventure Novel would be okay for this prompt?"

That's a fun interpretation!

Sydney wrote: "What do you guys think about Fight Club for this topic? I know we aren't supposed to talk about it... (haha) but would Fight Club count as a game? Or is that approach a little too b..."

Maybe, if the men themselves consider it a game or sport. I wouldn't have thought a book about the Olympics fit either, until I realized they called it the Olympic Games.

What are you reading for this prompt?
I read London Match by Len Deighton
A match is the name for a game between players

I had planned on reading The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin for this prompt, but I used it for a different prompt! So - I tried reading The Queen's Gambit by Walter Tevis. I had to DNF. It wasn't that it was bad. It was that it was so bad, I felt like I needed a shower after reading some of it. Ugh. So, I am planning on reading The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins.

I would recommend Sudden Death by Rita Mae Brown. The protagonist is a tennis player, and there is a lot about the tennis world in the book.

I am reading the Incredible Winston Browne by Sean Dietrich (blogger Sean of the south) and there is alot about baseball in the book so I think it would work for this prompt.

I will be reading Winter Holiday by Arthur Ransome and can recommend any books by him, although they are written for children, but make a nice pleasant read sometimes.

I was unaware of The Westing Game until I saw it in this thread but it sounded interesting so I choose it for this challenge and I am glad that I did. It was a quick and enjoyable read!

I kind of wonder if the author of the The Inheritance Games (another good option for this prompt) was inspired by it.

I read The Marriage Game by Alison Weir.

Not about an actual game but the game of marriage negotiations played for a good part of her reign by Elizabeth I. I prefer Weir's non-fiction to her fiction. The author uses a lot of original quotes, which I think clash with the modern writing, but it would be useful for someone wanting an introduction to the period.